Hi guys! I’m writing to you from my cozy cabin on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady. We departed from Miami just a few hours ago, and it was also the first time I’ve ever stepped foot on a cruise ship! More on that later. 

While I’m traveling on this cruise, I wanted to do something different. A more personal “travel diary” type entry that I’ll post daily while on my cruise. This way my thoughts and feelings are still fresh and you can follow along with me. Let me know if this is something you’d want to see more of!

Flying from Curacao to Miami

One of the great things about Virgin Voyages is that at least one of their ships always departs from Miami. They have a huge terminal there. Lucky for me, American Airlines flies two flights daily nonstop from Curacao to Miami! Around this time of the year, economy flights roundtrip were around $600 and business class seats were around $1200. 

I don’t know if you guys know this about me, but I’m a carry-on only kind of girl. Even for my wedding last year, we spent 2 weeks in Massachusetts and New York and I only packed a carry-on. There’s something about traveling light and being able to go when you land that I enjoy. Total buzzkill to get off a plane and wait for your luggage, or worse, deal with lost luggage. 

My husband dropped me off at the Curacao Hato International Airport on Thursday and promised to give our dogs extra hugs and kisses. Since news broke of a Panda Express opening on the island, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled. And peeled they were when I passed by the walls still saying, “Opening Soon.” Maybe they’ll be open when I come back?  (EDIT: As of mid-2025 they are open!)

Since I did carry-on only, there was no need for me to wait in line for bag drop. Though, it wouldn’t have taken long because there was barely a line anyway. When departing Curacao, you scan your e-boarding pass at an e-gate, and then if you have a US passport use another e-gate to pass through immigration. It’s all very quick and seamless. Security didn’t have much of a line as usual. This time there was a steel drum player performing inside the duty free store and it felt very Caribbean! 

American Airlines Business Class: Curacao to Miami

This flight is done on a Boeing 737-800 with 4 rows of Business Class seats. The layout is 2 by 2 and quite modern. The seats were in excellent condition (they don’t lie flat) and the flight attendants were surprisingly pleasant. No seat back entertainment on this plane, you have to use your phone to stream stuff instead.

I have to applaud the efficiency of American Airlines at the Curacao Airport. I’ve taken this flight several times by now and each time they board early and depart early. I know that’s not always the case, but looking at their recent flight history it doesn’t seem to be a fluke. 

When I sat down at my seat, a flight attendant greeted me and asked if I’d like the Chicken Shawarma or Cobb Salad for lunch. I went with the chicken along with a glass of white wine. She also passed out piping hot towels to re-add the moisture to our sagging faces. Everything was going really well! 

We took off without issue and within a few minutes we were at 10,000 feet and lunch was promptly served after. The chicken meal was good – like surprisingly good. They say flying dulls your taste buds and boy did they make up for that with this chicken meal. I could taste cinnamon, turmeric, and pepper. The chicken was served with a side of pumpkin hummus and pita and crunchy pomegranate seeds – light and refreshing. Dessert was a pumpkin spice cake which was whatever. 

3 quick hours later we landed in Miami about 25 minutes early. The flight was so easy and I highly recommend it. The only thing is, for whatever reason, they always park the plane at the furthest part of the airport from immigration. My watch asked me 8 minutes in if I want to log a workout. That’s how serious that walk is. If you have Global Entry – you’ll breeze through! Otherwise, depending on when you fly in you’ll be waiting a while. On a Thursday afternoon the regular line wasn’t too bad. Your mileage may vary. 

Trying Out Brickell for the First Time

I’ve been to Miami three times previously, and I’ve always stayed in South Beach. You may recall I did blog posts on my favorite South Beach hotels: Faena Miami Beach and the Miami Beach EDITION. This time, I wanted to try something different. Since I live by the beach anyway, I thought: why not stay in the city this time? 

I booked the CitizenM Brickell for the 2 nights prior to my cruise. I’m not going to do an individual blog post on it because it’s not a luxury hotel, but I was pleasantly surprised how adequate it was for being a city hotel at an accessible price point. 

A Quick Review of CitizenM Brickell

CitizenM is a Dutch hotel chain purporting to sell “smart luxury”. I wouldn’t call the CitizenM experience “luxury” in my opinion, and I’ll tell you why later. The Brickell property was in an excellent location. Literally right next to Sexy Fish, one of Miami’s trendiest spots. Just a few blocks away was the Brickell Shopping Center. Just behind the hotel was a MetroMover station AND a Shake Shack. Talk about convenient! I really loved the location – except for the noise. More on that in a second. 

I booked an entry level King room coming in at a teensy 200-something square feet. I couldn’t do lunges in this room if I tried, but that’s okay it was only a couple of nights. What I liked was that the room was decked out in cool tech. An iPad controlled mood lights, A/C, TV (with casting abilities!), and the blackout curtains. The bed was not very comfortable and the bathroom was just as small as my cruise cabin bathroom. There weren’t any real views from the windows despite being on the 15th floor.

The bad: on Friday night I could hear the music coming from a nearby venue up until the wee hours of the night. I’m talking bumping club music. The walls are also quite thin and I was dying to know what was making my neighbor laugh so much. The toiletries were CitizenM branded and, to my horror, a combination shampoo and body gel. You also had to request for your room to be cleaned via the iPad as they wouldn’t do it automatically.

A Side Note about Luxury vs. Non-Luxury Hotels

I wanted to take a moment to talk about the difference between a mid-level experience at CitizenM versus a luxury experience at the Faena, as an example. People ask me why I bother booking luxury properties for clients when, and I quote, “hotels are literally just a place to sleep.” Where do I even begin? 

Another example: the hair dryer in my room was just a bottom of the barrel hair dryer that didn’t do my hair any good. When I stayed at the Eden Rock in St. Barths, the rooms came equipped with a Dyson hair dryer (and curler!). My hair was so lush that night. Toiletries are better quality and less drying at luxury hotels. Front desk staff call your room to check if you’re enjoying your stay at luxury hotels. There are other perks like complimentary house cars offered at luxury hotels. CitizenM is barebones in comparison.

That’s not to say it’s a bad hotel. CitizenM was what I needed for the 2 nights I was in Miami, but it wasn’t just a place for me to sleep. It served a function: a well-located hotel with good tech and free wi-fi that would hold my bags after check out. When you pay for a luxury hotel, you are paying for a higher quality experience that elevates your entire trip. Why skimp on the part of your trip where the quality of sleep determines your energy levels on your vacation? 

Day 1 in Miami

After checking into my hotel, I went to the Brickell Shopping Center and bought myself a new iPhone. It was a long time coming. I went from an 11 Pro to a 16 Pro. Expect better quality pictures on the blog going forward! 

Honestly, I was so pooped from traveling that I walked around the shopping center, snapped a couple of pics, and then got Shake Shack take out and went back to the hotel. I spent the rest of the evening watching Love Island and catching up on some emails. 

I envy people who have lots of energy after flying. I wish I could be that! 

Day 2 in Miami

I was supposed to have a foodie tour of Wynwood, but that got cancelled because of low participation. Bummer! I really wanted to see more of Wynwood. Instead, I ended up walking from Brickell to Bayside Marketplace. It was a beautiful walk with even more beautiful sunny weather. While I love living in Curacao, I miss being able to walk places. I definitely got my walking fix in this day. 

Bayside Marketplace was cute! Touristy, but cute. Right outside the entrance is a place where cruisers and visitors can drop off their checked bags for a fee while they explore Miami. Pretty neat. I got an empanada walking around Bayside Marketplace and thought the area reminded me a bit of Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall in Boston. Anyone? Just me? It’s fine. Bayside is an open-air marketplace but the shops all have AC. I was going to hop on the daunting ferris wheel to get cool shots of Miami, but I chickened out because of my fear of heights. 

I was tired of walking at this point and I thought it would be a good idea to catch the double decker Big Bus going around Miami’s highlights. Take it from me: do not do this unless you love sitting in traffic. One full loop on the bus route took about 2 hours, and about 1 hour and 15 minutes of that was sitting in traffic. Listen, just because I’m a travel planner doesn’t mean I always make good decisions for myself. I’m like a guinea pig… for myself. Anyway, save yourself $50 bucks and the possibility of getting whiplash and skip this experience. 

I ended the evening with a dinner date for one at one of my favorite restaurants in Miami: Mandolin Aegean Bistro. I cannot express how much I love this restaurant. Their food is so good and their ambiance is like a little Greek courtyard. The waitress was tickled when I told her I’m on a solo date. She said, “you have to take yourself out once in a while, eh?” I ordered the grilled halloumi, spanakopita, and manti dumplings. All I can say is wow. Just wow. Everything was so good. Service was quick. Bill was about $115 after tip. Pricey, but worth it. You need to reserve this over a week in advance!

Embarkation Day at Miami Terminal V

When I booked this cruise, the only boarding time available was 3:45 PM. The earliest would have been 1:30 PM, for reference. This is one of the reasons why it’s important to book your cruise early! Anyway, I spent the morning answering work emails before packing up and checking out of my room. I had a little latte and pastry on the hotel lobby balcony while I people-watched down below. 

Between 11 AM and 3:45 PM, I had a bit of free time and my options were endless. I ended up storing my bag at the hotel (free!) and walking about 15 minutes to a nearby spa to get a massage. I’m all about self-care and getting massages is a way of showing myself love. But really, I just have tight shoulders from sitting and typing all the time. This massage was a great way to kill an hour. After my massage, I got my bag and got a Lyft to the cruise terminal. It took about 10 minutes to get there from Brickell and $11 not including tip. My driver said the early morning was crazy busy so I should be happy there’s no traffic. 

Virgin Voyages Terminal V Boarding Process

When I said bye to my Lyft driver, I gave my bag to a PortMiami Porter who took down my cabin number and, in a very Miami fashion, asked me directly if I’d like to give him a courtesy tip. I gave him a $5 and looked for my line. The Virgin Voyages terminal is huge, and you’d think they’d let people in there to hang out in all that space, but no you wait outside in lines organized by arrival time. I believe the latest arrival times was 4:45 PM or near there.

I got there around 2:00 PM and fell in line at the 3:45 PM. Around 2:15 PM, the earlier lines started moving and entering the building. What did I do while I waited for our line to move? I read my kindle. It’s really easy to just grab and go. Our line finally moved around 2:45 PM and we went on an escalator and down a hall to the check-in area where we waited in another line. 

Thankfully this line moved fast because there were about 30 Virgin Voyages staff members checking people in. Hot tip: You can actually visit the terminal earlier in the day and check-in + get your bracelet and bypass this step! When I checked in, I provided my passport and cabin number (listed in the app) and then received my bracelet. I then waited in another line for security, complete with a TSA-reminiscent loud officer yelling about keeping electronics in your bags. 

After security, I stood in one more line – a last scan of my new wristband by the security team before walking onto the bridge connecting to the Scarlet Lady. She was big, bold, beautiful, and red. I was greeted by a cheery fellow in a cowboy hat, red vest, and booty shorts high fiving everyone. I knew in that very moment I would be in for a ride. 

Stay tuned for my next blog post – A Virgin Voyages Diary: Day 1 on the Scarlet Lady.